After more than a decade of delays, corruption, and project mismanagement, a key tourism project in the North West province has been unblocked by the Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille.
Construction has restarted on the ambitious Manyane Lodge tourism project in Mahikeng this month – which was first identified for a massive upgrade by the North West Parks and Tourism Agency in 2011 – and is set for completion by October 2024.
Speaking during an oversight visit to the Manyane Lodge project yesterday, De Lille said various stakeholders had raised concerns about its future. “The completion of the Manyane Lodge, however, remains a key priority for the Department of Tourism as investment in infrastructure development will boost further private-sector investment in the region and result in more job opportunities for neighbouring communities.
“The Manyane Lodge is one of the longstanding, delayed and incomplete projects and my visit today was geared towards meeting with stakeholders to inject urgency into this project. The delay on this project has a negative impact on tourism activities, the community and especially the tourism sector in the region and it is imperative that we finally complete this project.”
Chairman of the North West Legislature Standing Committee on Provincial Public Accounts (SCOPA), Job Dliso – who accompanied De Lille on her visit – strongly condemned the fact that the various departments had failed to monitor the control systems in the supply chain management processes.
“This is as money spent cannot be accounted for. It is further worrying that the department will pay the additional funds without holding anyone accountable on the delays that have continued for over six financial years,” he said.
MEC for the North West Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism, Virginia Tlhapi, noted that the matter of Manyane Game Lodge was currently under investigation and the department would submit a comprehensive report to the committee.
“We have also developed a monitoring mechanism to assess progress and ongoing developments at the project.”
